The five-mile trek from Fort Funston north to the Cliff House takes less than two hours. | Photo: Shane Downing/Hoodline

Kenin set out to change that. She fell in love with Adah Bakalinsky's book, Stairway Walks in San Francisco, and began hiking throughout the city and exploring San Francisco's 220 public parks with friends on a regular basis.

"I started going out to see these places and to get to know San Francisco," Kenin said, "but when I was looking for places to hike, I realized there was no central resource to find all of them."

Kenin is Urban Hiker’s only full-time employee—she also works part-time at Wordsmithie to help make ends meet—but she has five contracted guides that help her lead regular hikes on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Urban Hiker SF also offers private tours and hikes for corporate clients, but most of its small group tours are made up of out-of-towners.

“We tell people that if they want to get a killer view with their workout, or, if they like being active on their vacation,” Kenin said, “they should do one of our hikes.”

Kenin’s most popular hike is the Urban Jungles Hike: a three-hour, round trip from the Castro Theatre to Twin Peaks. Urban Hiker SF's tours begin at $49 per person, not including tip.

Hikers take a second (and a seat) to look out over San Francisco. | Photo: Alexandra Kenin/Urban Hiker SF

Fitness is an integral part of each Urban Hiker outing. At around five miles, urban hikes are longer than the average city walking tour, which tend to run between one and two miles.